Tool for sheet metal workers



Feb. 2l, i950 TOOL FOR SHEET METAL WORKERS Filed OCT.. lO, 1946 DALY 2,498,397

Patented Feb. 21, 1950 U'lsu'rlsov STAT Es ATEN-T @FFI-CE;

TOOL-FOR SHEET METAL WORKERS t Walter. J., Daly, Waterbury, Conn.

vApplication' October 10, 1946, Serial No. 702,548'

Thisl invention.relatesftoua; tool' for. sheet metal workers, although it `may -tensed' in. connection with other material than metal Itis particularlyl concerned with a scribing or marking tool which` may be employ-edito mark metal or other material for cutting, andy isalso adaptable to other'uses, such-as taking-measurements, if" de sired.

In working-w-itl'rslfieet7 materials, such as sheet metal, for example,` itoftenY becomes necessary to mark the metal previously to cutting the same to desired size and/shape. For thisI purpose, it is desirable to provide l a simple andI inexpensive tool which'may be guided alongy the edge of' the sheet of material-being-marhedso as to scribeor mark the sheet at a given Adistance from the edge. Moreover, the guide-or gauge member-should be adjustable so4 that the f tool may" be `set to markat anyvdesi-red distancefromthe-edgelof the material, and vpreferably'l there should be at least two of such members provided, s o that the tool may be set to mark the sheet'of-material at at least two different distancesv from the edge without readjustment.

Also, the gauge members should :be so supported that they will always move to exactly parallel positions in order that. the measurements maybe correct andintorderv thatzthe toolmay be used for certainpurposes.. other than scribing or markingy sheet, metal. Some of fthe additional Jus es ot` theftool, as will be referredfto hereinafter, are useA as aV caliper for. measuring. the diametersv of tubes orrods., andy use as. acompass or divider for layingxo and` dividing circl'esand arcs.

One` object lot the-present'invention iszto pro'- vide an economical, simple, and convenient scribing or marking tool for sheet metal workers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a scribing tool having a scribing point at each end and adjustable gauge members which may be moved lengthwise of the tool, and which will cooperate with the scribing point, these gauge members being properly guided in their movements and rigidly held in their adjusted positions.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a tool of the character described which may be conveniently and economically made of sheet metal and which will consist of a relatively small movement of parts.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the character described which will be of simple construction and economical to manufacture and, at the same time, be capable of use for a number of different purposes,

To these and other :ends .the invention consistsi inthe novelvfeatures and combinations of* parts to be hereinafterI described andclaimed..

In the accompanying drawings.:

Fig. 1 is a-front elevation-alview: of a; scribingz tool embodying my' invention:l

Fig. 2. is a sectional view ony line i-rofrFig; l;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the tool in operative position with relation'to a piece olii sheetV material which it is desired tomarkr.

Fig. 41' is` a perspective viewl showingthe useo-f the tool as a compass; and' Fig. 5 is--a `front elevationalA view showing .the useof the tool as a caliper.`

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my: inivention, IJhave shown in the drawings a tool Ycom--l prising an elongated.l body portion Ill'madeof: sheet'm'etal; forI example, thisY portionbeing pro.- vded with an elongated slot Il and with scale' markings i2. and [31g although it will'. be understood thatl onlyfone setllof ,scale markings may be employed, if"desi=redf; The endportions of the body oi'th'e toolmay be roundedot', as r`shown aty 14,1 and brought downwai-"dly'from` the body: of

the tool to provide a straightzed'geliandfalscriba ing point i6', theredge lupreferablybeing at'rght angles tothe lowerI edge iv'l'fofxthebodjr' l'i As shown in Fig; 2"of`the=drawings, a fiange l'may be provided integrally onthe body: portion I, this flange extending entirely along the` edge of the tool opposite the straighty edge lil` and extending in a planesubstantially-at right angles to the plane of the bodyy I'l` Preferably, the flange lllv` may be formed by: bending over the upper 'portion of the body1 lill, particularlyif 4the latter is made of sheet metal. As will befhereinafter explained, this flange serves as a guide for the movable arms or gauge members to be hereinafter described.

As illustrated, a pair of gauge elements 20 are provided, these gauge elements also being preferably of sheet material, such as sheet metal, and having upper portions of substantially rectangular sha-pe and lower portions projecting beyond the edge Il of the body of the tool to points 2l. One edge of this triangular portion, shown at 22 in the drawings, is preferably a straight edge which will be disposed parallel to the edge i5 on the body of the gauge.

The edge of each of the gauge members opposite the point 2| or the upper edge, as shown in the drawings, extends at right angles to the edge 22 and, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, fits snugly against the inner or under surface of the ilange I8, so that each of the gauge elements will lie snugly against this flange and Ibe supported by it against any tendency to cant, thus maintaining the edge 22 parallel to the edge I5.

Each of the gauge elements 20 is provided with a threaded opening 24 designed to receive the threaded end 25 of a thumb screw 26, this screw passing through the slot II and having a ilange 21 adapted to abut the surface of the body portion l adjacent the slot so that, when the thumb screw is tightened, the gauge element will be held tightly in place. It Will be apparent that by loosening the thumb screw the gauge element may be moved longitudinally of the tool to the desired position as determined by the scales I2 and I3 and again clamped in place. Also, by removing the thumb screw 26, one of the gauge elements may be moved to the side of the other one opposite that shown in the drawings and again secured in place, so that the straight edges v22 may oppose each other instead of opposing the edges I of the body of the tool.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings I have shown the position occupied by the tool when marking a piece of sheet metal 28. The gauge element 20 is set with its edge 22 at the required distance from the edge I5. It will be seen that the edge 22 is longer than the edge I5, thus spacing the point 2l at a greater distance from the edge I1 than the point I6, so that the edge 22 may be guided by the edge 29 of the sheet of material 28, While the point I6 scribes or marks the material at the proper distance from the edge 29. As previously explained, the other gauge element 20 may be conveniently set at a diii'erent distance from the corresponding edge I5, so that if it is necessary to make two different markings on a sheet of material, as is often the case, this can be done without intermediate adjustment of the tool.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings I have shown the device when used as a compass. In this instance, the points 2l become the scribing or markingv points, and, as the edges 22 are longer than the edges I5, the points 2| of the two gauge elements will come in contact with the surface to be marked, although-the scribing points I6 will be considerably above this surface so as not to interfere with the marking operation.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings I have shown my tool employed as a caliper. In this instance, one of the gauge elements 20 has been moved to the side of the gauge element opposite that shown in Fig. 1, so that the edges 22 oppose each other and may be brought against the opposite sides of a pipe or other object which it is desired to measure.

It will be obvious that the tool illustrated herein is of simple construction and may be readily and economically made of sheet metal, for example, while, at the same time, the gauge elements will be held rigidly in any adjusted position so that the tool will be accurate and will be capable of being employed for a number of different functions.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modication and variation Within the spirit of the invention and Within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A scribing tool having a body portion comprising a at plate-like member having an integrally formed end portion projecting laterally from the body portion,said end portion being formed With a scribing point, a gauge element having a straight edge extending transversely of the body and projecting therefrom, means for adjustably securing said gauge element flatly against one face of the body portion, said gauge element comprising a at member of sheet material having its straight edge upon the side facing the point of the end portion and being pointed on its projecting end, the projecting end of the gauge element being disposed at a greater distance from the adjacent edge of the body portion than is the point of the end portion, and said body portion having a laterally extending ange along the opposite edge thereof against which one edge of the gauge element is abutted.

2. A scribing tool as in claim l in which a pair of similar gauge elements are adjustably secured to the body portion with the straight edges oppositely disposed and in which the body portion is provided with pointed projections at both ends.

WALTER. J. DALY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNTTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 13,237 Swany July 10, 1855 367,290 Gilmer July 26, 1887 517,696 Hunter Apr. 3, 1894 1,011,390 Stubbs Dec. 12, 1911 1,392,825 Gonzales Oct. 4, 1921 1,700,857 Schultz Feb. 5, 1929 1,739,440 Ciliske Dec. 10, 1929 1,753,191 Armstrong Apr. 8, 1930 

